The Cromer Terrace blog - for independent graduate perspectives on Current Affairs, Cultural Issues and The Arts

Friday, 30 March 2012

Boris digging hole in mayoral race

Running for re-election as London Mayor in May, Boris
Johnson is playing a dangerous game by threatening to veto the proposed third
runway at Heathrow. The Tories had previously ruled out the possibility of an
expansion at Heathrow in their 2010 manifesto but lobbying by both domestic and
foreign business interests has put the controversial issue back on the agenda
in this year’s budget.

Johnson has consistently portrayed himself as a green-friendly
mayor and has vowed to reject a new runway on the grounds of the pollution it
would cause over West London. Instead he has reiterated his support for a new
airport on the Thames Estuary. In doing so he is at risk of losing support from
many in the capital, especially considering the current economic climate. An
expansion of Heathrow would be a cheaper and more effective answer to the clear
need to increase Britain’s airport capacity in the Southeast, which is being
aggressively challenged on the continent. The question is adding more strain to
the coalition partnership, since the Liberal-Democrats had previously promised
to oppose a capacity increase at Heathrow.

With the mayoral election looming, Boris needs to assess the
kind of message he wants to put to voters. Pledges made by former mayor and
Labour candidate Ken Livingston to make London more ‘New York-esque’, based
around an increased independence from the rest of the country, may appeal to
those worried about the capital’s competitiveness on the world stage. Boris may
be playing into the hands of his opponent by seeming to not put London’s needs
as seriously.